ADDIS ABEBA – Ethiopian wonder boy Lelisa Desisa ended an 18-year wait for the country when he made a spectacular sprint finish against compatriot Mosinet Geremew to win a midnight marathon at the 2019 Doha World Athletics Championship on Sunday.
Lelisa last year’s New York marathon winner and world silver medalist in Moscow six years ago, became the first Ethiopian to win the title since Gezahegne Abera took the world championship title in Canada in 2001.
The 29-year-old crossed the finish line in 2 hours 10 minutes and 40 seconds at the Doha Corniche promenade in the Qatari capital, Doha, where the temperature in the midnight race was high again but humidity far lower than at past road races.
Mosinet, four seconds behind, took silver and Amos Kipruto of Kenya the bronze.
In Doha Ethiopia stood second from Africa with the total tally of seven medals of which two are gold medals through Muktar Idris in 5, 000 meters, Lelisa Desisa in marathon. The four silver medals were earned through Yomif Kejelcha in 10, 000m, Letesenbet in women’s 10, 000m, Mosinet Geremew in marathon and Solomon Barega in 5, 000m. The bronze medalist Gudefay Thegaye in 3, 000m hurdles.
Commentators from the spot
reported that the race in Qatar ended in heartbreak for Britain’s Callum
Hawkins who managed to close the gap on the leaders near the end only to finish
fourth for the second time running, this time missing out on the medal by six
seconds.
“This is a gift for 100 million Ethiopian people who were behind me,” said Lelisa Desisa. “I am the second man from my country to win this title and it is not just for me, it is for my country.”
As with the other road races during the championship, the race started just before midnight to escape the worst of the heat and humidity.
Conditions were less brutal than previously thought, although it was still 29.09 Celsius with 48.6% humidity at the start, organizers said, and 55 of the 73 starters completed the course – the last, Nicolas Cuestas of Uruguay, finishing half an hour behind the winner, the reporter said from the spot.
But Lelisa said he had been training especially under the conditions of burning sun.
“I trained in a place with similar weather condition, so this race was not hard – it was similar to my training area,” he said.
It was reported that 18 runners fail to finish race due to Doha’s intense heat.
The runners did six laps of a seven-kilometer loop of Doha’s waterfront although it was again a surreal atmosphere with virtually no spectators lining the route. The only encouragement for the runners came from team delegates and reporters near the finish line.
Paraguay’s Derlys Ayala hared off at the start and gave himself a 150 meter-lead over the rest of the field within the first kilometer. He managed to keep the lead for around an hour before being swallowed by the pack and then dropping out.
Eventually, Lelisa, Mosinet, Kipruto, Stephen Mokoka and Zersenay Tadese broke away from the rest and took control of the race.
After several kilometers of cat and mouse, they were caught by Dawkins with three kilometers left to set up an enthralling finish.
Mokoka and Tadese were the first to be dropped before Dawkins also lost contact around one kilometer from the end. Kipruto was also unable to keep up and it ended with Lelisa charging away to claim the gold.
The 17th edition of the world championships, the first to be held in a Middle Eastern country, was wrapped up on Sunday.
The Ethiopian Herald October 8/2019
BY SOLOMON BEKELE
